Telcos bemoan N3.4bn NCAA’s yearly fee demand
…say multiple regulations frustrating business
Telecoms operators in the country are currently unsettled over demands by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) for renewal of Aviation Height Clearance (AHC) fee totalling N3.3 billion.
Our correspondent gathered that the fee covers cost of renewal and inspection of base station sites across the country by the aviation regulator.
While the telcos had over the years complained about multiple taxation and multiple regulations in the sector, the demand by NCAA is seen as one of many disincentives to telecommunications business in the country.
According to the operators, the NCAA is demanding AHC renewal fee of N50, 000 per base station, while inspection of each of the sites would cost the telcos at least N25, 000 per site, depending on the location.
The Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) currently have about 45,000 base stations across the country and the multiplication of the cost of renewal and inspection for each amount to N3.4 billion.
Aside the annual fees, initial application for AHC from the aviation body costs N100, 000 per site, the operators said.
The demand had prompted the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators (ALTON) the umbrella body of the MNOs, to hold an emergency meeting with the NCAA management last week.
However, the NCAA after the meeting issued a statement warning that any telecom operator that fail to pay the fee would be heavily sanctioned. The NCAA in the statement quoted the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (Establishment)
t said the Act empowered it to prohibit and regulate the installation of any structure “which by virtue of its height or position is considered to endanger the safety of air navigation, such as masts”.
According to aviation regulator, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig.CARs) Part 12.1.7.1.12 also empowers the NCAA to carry out surveillance inspection of existing structure within the Nigerian airspace, on aerodrome or off aerodrome to ascertain the compliance level of the structures with safety measures in terms of painting, markers, lightings and approved heights for the structures.
Speaking on the meeting with NCAA over the demands, the Executive Secretary of ALTON, Mr Gbolahan Awonuga, said though the meeting was to seek clarifications on the charges, it became clear after that the problem of multiple regulation and multiple taxation in the telecom sector was getting more complicated.
While noting that there was no faceoff between the telecom body and NCAA, he said the telcos are responsible corporate citizens of the country and natural partners in progress and would always follow due processes.
“What we are witnessing today is that most of the regulatory bodies have left the regulatory functions and now turn to revenue generating bodies and this brings about multiple taxation and regulation.
Don’t forget that telecommunication operations is not isolated to the ecosystem, the cost of running business in Nigeria, especially telecoms is triple the cost of running same in Ghana and neighbouring countries. Almost all agencies of government are after telecommunications, why?
We cannot afford to have crisis in the industry because we operate one network in all networks,” he said. “We call on the Federal Government to look into the issue of Tax and Levy Amended Order 2015 signed by the former Minister of Finance in the last administration, Mrs. Ngozi Okonji-Iwaela.
This order has created lot of confusion in the taxes and levies regime and making the environment harsh for business, not minding the Government Ease of Doing Business programme.”
He noted that the telecommunication industry had been the best customer centric sector, where issues pertaining to subscribers are taking very seriously by both the operators and the regulator.
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